Business

Commerzbank Announces €400 Million Share Buyback Amid UniCredit Takeover Battle

Published

2 hours ago

January 31, 2025

RTX

Frankfurt, Germany – Commerzbank has announced plans to buy back shares worth up to €400 million, according to its earnings statement released on Friday. The move comes as the German lender fends off a potential takeover by Italy’s UniCredit.

The bank confirmed that it had secured regulatory approvals for the buyback, which it aims to complete by its Annual General Meeting in mid-May.

Strong Earnings and Increased Dividends

Commerzbank reported earnings of €2.68 billion for 2024, reflecting a 20% increase compared to 2023. The bank’s revenues grew by 6% year-on-year to €11.11 billion, driven by higher commission income and interest returns.

Additionally, the bank announced an increase in its dividend to €0.65 per share, up from €0.35 in the previous year. This means that from 2022 to 2024, Commerzbank will have returned €3.1 billion to shareholders.

CEO Stresses Strength of Commerzbank as a Standalone Entity

Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp emphasized that the bank had exceeded its capital return promise to investors.

“By consistently managing costs and focusing on growth initiatives, we were able to significantly increase the net result for the past financial year,” Orlopp said in a statement.

She also reaffirmed that Commerzbank remains an attractive investment, sending a clear message to investors as she works to defend the bank from UniCredit’s takeover attempt.

UniCredit’s Growing Stake Raises Political Concerns

Under CEO Andrea Orcel, UniCredit has been steadily increasing its stake in Commerzbank. In December, the Italian lender raised its holdings to 28%, having previously disclosed a 9% stake in September.

UniCredit initially acquired the shares through derivatives, a method that allowed it to avoid immediate disclosure. This has sparked criticism from German politicians, who accused the Italian bank of lacking transparency about its intentions.

Upcoming Strategy Meeting

Orlopp is set to present an updated strategy to Commerzbank’s board of managing directors on February 13, in an effort to reinforce the bank’s independence and convince shareholders that a takeover is unnecessary.

As the battle for control of Germany’s second-largest lender continues, Commerzbank’s latest financial results and shareholder-friendly initiatives could play a key role in determining the bank’s future.

Business

Minimum Wages in the EU Rise Faster Than Inflation, Boosting Real Incomes

Published

2 hours ago

January 31, 2025

RTX

Brussels, Belgium – Minimum wages across the European Union (EU) and candidate countries have increased at a faster pace than inflation, leading to real wage growth for workers in most nations, according to the latest data from Eurostat. However, significant regional disparities remain in both nominal wages and purchasing power.

Minimum Wage Disparities Across Europe

As of January 2025, monthly gross minimum wages in the EU range from €551 in Bulgaria to €2,638 in Luxembourg. Among candidate countries, Moldova has the lowest minimum wage at €285.

The EU’s 22 countries with statutory minimum wages fall into three categories:

Group 1: Above €1,500 per month
- Luxembourg (€2,638), Ireland (€2,282), Netherlands (€2,193), Germany (€2,161), Belgium (€2,070), and France (€1,802).
- Notably, Germany overtook Belgium due to its latest wage increase.
Group 2: Between €1,000 and €1,500 per month
- Spain (€1,323), Slovenia (€1,254), Poland (€1,091), Lithuania (€1,038), Portugal (€1,015), and Cyprus (€1,000).
- This group has expanded significantly since July 2024, when it included only two countries.
Group 3: Below €1,000 per month
- Includes 10 EU nations and all candidate countries.
- Croatia (€970), Greece (€968), Malta (€961), Estonia (€886), Czechia (€826), Slovakia (€816), Romania (€814), Hungary (€707), and Bulgaria (€551) are in this category.
- Among candidate nations, Turkey leads with €708, surpassing Hungary and Bulgaria.

Purchasing Power Adjustments Narrow Wage Gap

While nominal wages vary widely, the gap shrinks when adjusted for purchasing power standards (PPS), which accounts for cost-of-living differences.

In nominal terms, Luxembourg’s minimum wage is 4.8 times higher than Bulgaria’s.
In PPS terms, Germany ranks highest (€1,992), while Estonia has the lowest (€878), reducing the gap to 2.3 times.
Countries like Romania (17th to 9th) and Montenegro (18th to 12th) improve significantly in PPS rankings, while Ireland (2nd to 5th) and Estonia (14th to 21st) drop due to higher living costs.

Inflation vs. Wage Growth: Winners and Losers

In most countries, minimum wage increases outpaced inflation, but four nations saw real wages decline:

Turkey was hit hardest, with inflation at 44.4%, while its minimum wage rose by only 30%.
Cyprus, Albania, and Belgium also experienced slight real-term declines.

Conversely, Montenegro led real wage growth, with a 25.9% wage hike against just 2.6% inflation, significantly boosting purchasing power. Other strong performers included Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Lithuania.

EU Minimum Wage Directive Drives Up Pay

The EU Minimum Wage Directive aims to set statutory minimum wages at 60% of a country’s median wage. In 2022, only three EU nations met this threshold, but rising wages are now bringing more countries in line with the directive.

“The directive may play a role in driving substantial increases to minimum wages from now on,” wrote Christine Aumayr-Pintar and Carlos Vacas-Soriano of Eurofound.

With minimum wages continuing to rise, policymakers will be watching closely to see if the trend sustains real income growth across Europe.

Business

Mixed Earnings for US Tech Giants: Tesla and Microsoft Disappoint, Meta Surges

Published

1 day ago

January 30, 2025

RTX

The latest earnings reports from major US tech firms presented a mixed picture, as Tesla and Microsoft fell short of market expectations, while Meta Platforms exceeded forecasts across all key metrics.

Despite weaker-than-expected results, Tesla’s stock rebounded on future growth prospects, while Microsoft’s shares fell on concerns over slowing cloud growth. Meanwhile, Meta’s strong earnings propelled its stock higher, despite ongoing legal challenges.

Tesla: Focus Shifts to Future Growth

Tesla reported a 2% year-on-year revenue increase in Q4 2024, a significant slowdown from 8% growth in the previous quarter. The company’s core automotive sales fell by 8%, and gross margins declined to 16.3%, marking a four-quarter low.

Despite these setbacks, investors reacted positively to Tesla’s future plans. The company reaffirmed that its next-generation affordable vehicles remain on track for 2025 production, with autonomous vehicle Cybercab set for mass production in 2026.

“We expect the vehicle business to return to growth in 2025,” Tesla stated. Additionally, Tesla’s energy storage business remained a bright spot, with revenue surging 113%, and the company expects at least 50% growth in that segment this year.

Tesla’s stock initially fell after the earnings release but later rebounded, closing up 4% in after-hours trading.

Microsoft: Cloud Growth Slows Amid Capacity Constraints

Microsoft reported 12.3% revenue growth year-on-year, marking its slowest pace since mid-2023. While earnings per share ($3.23) beat estimates ($3.12), concerns over slower growth in Azure Cloud weighed on investor sentiment.

Azure’s 31% revenue growth fell short of the previous quarter’s 33%, as Microsoft struggled with data center capacity constraints. CFO Amy Hood warned that growth will remain flat in the near term, estimating a 31%-32% increase in the current quarter.

Despite these concerns, CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the company’s AI success, noting that Microsoft’s AI-driven business reached an annual revenue run rate of $13 billion—up 175% year-on-year.

The stock, however, fell 4.6% after the earnings release, as investors reacted to the higher-than-expected AI infrastructure spending and slowing cloud growth.

Meta Platforms: Strong Performance Despite Legal Challenges

Meta exceeded expectations across all key financial metrics, reporting:

$48.39 billion in Q4 revenue, up 21% year-on-year.
$8.02 per share in profit, significantly above analysts’ forecast of $6.77.

The company credited its strong results to growth in advertising revenue and the success of its Meta AI chatbot, which reached 600 million users in December. CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects AI user numbers to hit 1 billion in 2025.

However, Meta issued a cautious revenue outlook for the current quarter, and did not provide full-year guidance for 2025. It also warned that regulatory challenges in the EU and US could impact its business.

Meta’s stock rose 2.3% in after-hours trading and is up 14.71% year-to-date, making it the best-performing stock among the Magnificent Seven so far this year.

Market Reactions: Tech Stocks Diverge

Tesla (+4% after-hours): Investors focused on long-term growth, despite weak earnings.
Microsoft (-4.6%): Concerns over slowing cloud growth and AI spending weighed on shares.
Meta (+2.3%): Strong results overshadowed regulatory risks.

With earnings season in full swing, investors will closely watch Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon, as the rest of the Magnificent Seven report their results in the coming days.

Business

Eurozone Growth Stalls as Germany and France Contract, Raising Expectations for ECB Rate Cuts

Published

1 day ago

January 30, 2025

RTX

The eurozone economy stagnated in the final quarter of 2024, as Germany and France posted unexpected contractions, reinforcing expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will cut interest rates to support struggling growth.

According to preliminary data from Eurostat, eurozone GDP remained flat in Q4 2024, a sharp slowdown from the 0.4% growth recorded in the previous quarter and below analysts’ expectations of a 0.1% expansion. This marks the weakest performance since Q4 2023.

Germany and France Struggle, Portugal Leads Growth

The biggest drag on growth came from the bloc’s two largest economies:

Germany’s GDP shrank by 0.2%, worse than the 0.1% decline forecasted.
France’s economy contracted by 0.1%, missing expectations of stagnation.
Italy’s GDP remained flat for the second consecutive quarter, defying projections of a 0.1% increase.

Meanwhile, some smaller economies outperformed:

Portugal led growth with a 1.5% increase, followed by Lithuania (+0.9%) and Spain (+0.8%).
The worst-performing economies were Ireland (-1.3%), Germany (-0.2%), and France (-0.1%).

“Once again, it is the periphery driving growth, while Germany and France remain a drag due to structural and cyclical headwinds,” said Kyle Chapman, FX Markets Analyst at Ballinger Group.

ECB Poised for Rate Cuts

The weak GDP figures have strengthened market expectations that the ECB will cut rates at its next policy meeting. Analysts predict a 25-basis-point cut to 2.75%, with at least four reductions expected by the end of 2025.

The ECB faces pressure to stimulate the economy, particularly as inflation trends toward the 2% target. ECB President Christine Lagarde is expected to emphasize that monetary policy alone is not enough, calling for fiscal support and structural reforms to improve competitiveness.

Policy Gap Widens Between ECB and Federal Reserve

The ECB’s likely rate cuts contrast sharply with the US Federal Reserve, which held rates steady at 4.25%–4.50% in its latest meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that there is “no rush” to cut rates further, citing continued US economic resilience.

“The eurozone is fragile, with stagnant growth and rising recession risks,” said Boris Kovacevic, Global Macro Strategist at Convera. “In contrast, the US economy remains strong, driven by consumer spending, a tight labor market, and AI-driven investment.”

Market Reactions: Euro Steady, Bond Yields Fall

Financial markets reacted cautiously to the data:

The euro held steady at $1.04 ahead of the ECB decision.
Sovereign bond yields fell, reflecting increased demand for safe-haven assets:
- German Bund yield dropped 6 basis points to 2.52%.
- France’s 10-year OAT yield fell to 3.26%.
- Italy’s BTP yield slid 7 basis points to 3.60%.
Eurozone equities saw muted movement, with the Euro STOXX 50 rising 0.5%.
Germany’s DAX hit a record high (+0.2%), while Deutsche Bank shares fell 3.4% on weak revenue guidance.
Spain’s IBEX 35 outperformed (+0.8%), boosted by gains in real estate and banking stocks.

Outlook: More Cuts Ahead?

With Germany and France struggling, the ECB faces growing pressure to support growth through monetary easing. However, policy divergence with the US Fed could weigh on the euro, while persistent structural issues in Europe’s biggest economies remain a key concern.